Senior Kolby Ervin pitched a complete game against the Coyotes on April 13 (Photo: Jack Morton)
With a current district record of 6-1 and 13-8 overall, the Sycamore War Eagles baseball team has set a solid foundation for continued on-field success.
Game Day Recap:
Thursday, April 13 @ West Creek (non-district)
In the second inning, senior Kolby Ervin reached base on an error, junior Luca Morton doubled, and singles by junior David Ramirez and senior Austin Morris gave Sycamore a 3-1 lead over the Clarksville-based team. The Coyotes scored runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings to tie up the game at three.
West Creek, adding to their late-game momentum, piled on three more runs in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead. But, by the seventh inning, the tides turned, as the War Eagles scored four more runs, including Ervin's two-RBI single, giving Sycamore a 7-6 lead.
From the mound, Ervin held West Creek scoreless in their last at-bat, securing the (7-6) win for Sycamore.
Several defensive plays by junior Luca Morton at third base, Ramirez at shortstop, Morris at centerfield, and senior Jack Murray as catcher contributed to the team's victory.
Game Day Recap:
Saturday, April 15 V. Lebanon High School (non-district)
Freshman starting pitcher Owen McMahan only allowed two unearned runs in the third inning. Ramirez singled, stole second, and scored on an RBI single by Austin Morris to cut the Lebanon lead in half.
Junior Carter Heflin took the mound for Sycamore in the fourth inning and only surrendered one unearned run through the sixth. Ramirez hit a double in the fifth, but was later called out on a ground ball by Morris who reached first base on the play. Morris scored later in the inning on a passed ball to make the score 3-2, Lebanon. The War Eagles took the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a double by Morton, a pinch-hit RBI single by Nat Harris, and three consecutive hits by Ramirez, Morris, and Murray.
Freshman pitcher Owen McMahan and junior pitcher Carter Heflin in Saturday's game against the Blue Devils
(Photos: Jack Morton)
Sycamore led 4-3 heading into the visitor’s half of the seventh inning. Lebanon used a close fair ball call on a double to spark their own comeback, regaining their lead (5-4) against relief pitcher junior Christian Sanders. Sycamore put themselves in position to tie, or win the game, in the bottom of the seventh with a double off the fence by senior Elijah Haskins and a single up the middle by Morton. Haskins made the final out at the plate, attempting to score the game’s tying run on a wild pitch that bounced back to the catcher.
In a game with late-inning comebacks by both teams, the visiting Blue Devils ultimately came out ahead in the end, 5-4.
Sycamore High School's Luca Morton and David Ramirez (Photos: Jack Morton)
Offensive stats as of April 17, 2023:
Austin Morris: .317 avg; 3 doubles; 1 homerun
Elijah Haskins: .281 avg; 2 doubles; 2 homeruns
David Ramirez: .348 avg; 3 doubles
Jack Murray: .315 avg; 3 doubles; 19 walks
Conner Jones: .241 avg; 2 triples Brandon Pennington: .276 avg.; 1 double
Pitching stats as of April 11, 2023:
Austin Morris: 24 innings pitched; 24 strikeouts; .583 ERA
Conner Jones: 20 innings pitched; 20 strikeouts; 3.443 ERA
Kolby Ervin: 21 innings pitched; 13 strikeouts; 4.266 ERA
Luca Morton: 14 innings pitched; 15 strikeouts; 1.465 ERA
Christian Sanders: 9 innings pitched; 5 strikeouts; 3.111 ERA
Carter Heflin: 14 innings pitched; 6 strikeouts; 3.000 ERA
Brandon Pennington: 9 innings pitched; 9 strikeouts; 2.897 ERA
"As you can tell from the stats, we have a lot of contributors on this team," says Sycamore Head Coach Matt Carrigan. "On any given night, you might see 14 or15 guys getting playing time; in my opinion, this is the root of our success so far this season."
"We have a very rare blend of selfless players that don’t mind putting the team first," Carrigan adds. "They are also gritty, scrappy, competitive, and coachable. I really cant ask for much more as their head coach. You pair that with a great coaching staff by my side and I think we have a chance to keep up this early success."
Up next for the War Eagles: are two district games against Fairview slated for April 17 and 18. Double wins for Sycamore would put them in first place in the district. The district tournament is set to begin on May 4, 2023.
2023 Sycamore War Eagle Baseball Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Matt Carrigan
Assistant Coach: Alan Barnett
Assistant Coach: Daniel Smiley
Assistant Coach: Winston Vaughn
2023 Sycamore War Eagle Baseball Roster
Seniors
Kolby Ervin
Elijah Haskins
Austin Morris
Jack Murray
Juniors
Brayden DeCamp
Ethan Dunn
Nat Harris
Carter Heflin
Luca Morton
Brandon Pennington
David Ramirez
Christian Sanders
Sophomores
Evan Austin
Isaac Christy
Bradley Hudgens
Conner Jones
Ben Kimbrough
Jayden Nieves
Mason Stricklin
Gage Walker
Freshman
Nate Eads
Noah Ivey
Owen McMahan
Kyler Perkins
